The present invention is in the field of implantable leads, more particularly, terminations for carbon fiber implantable leads.
There have been increasing applications in recent years for implantable electrical leads for coupling electrical signals to and from or between various points in human or animal bodies. The incorporated reference patent describes one such application, that is, cardiac pacing by means of an implantable stimulator. As particularly pointed out in that reference, such implantable leads are typically subject to continuous flexing which may result from heartbeat, breathing or other body movements. Consequently, the leads are designed to be both pliant and fatigue-resistant.
The incorporated reference patent discloses a carbon fiber lead which is particularly well-suited for cardiac pacing and which is highly pliant and fatigue-resistant.
One of the difficulties with implantable carbon fiber leads in the prior art is the coupling of a termination assembly to the carbon fiber leads at both the tip end (which is implantable within a patient), and the terminal end (which is the end to be coupled to either sensor instrumentation or signal generating instrumentation). In typical prior art carbon fiber leads, particularly those having bundles of carbon fibers, or yarn, sheathed in tetrafluoroethylene, there has proven to be a substantial problem due to the inability to maintain a long life mechanical coupling between the terminations and the sheathing material.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved tip assembly for carbon fiber implantable leads.
It is yet another object to provide an improved tip assembly for a carbon fiber implantable lead which provides good electrical contact between an electrode tip and the internal carbon fiber bundles, while maintaining good mechanical coupling between the tip assembly and the lead.